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Chapter 4

Clash of the Titans

Fuzzy Lumpkins walked into the clearing in front of where he believed his cabin was. The snowstorm was finally beginning to weaken; therefore, the fog was dissolving and Fuzzy became able to see his humble abode… well, what remained of it.

The pink furred beast let himself fall on his knees and scratched his eyes, not really believing what he was looking at. But the sight did not change over time. Where before there was a wooden cabin, now was laying a thick layer of snow-covered debris.

"This ain't possible…" he began lamenting. "MY PROPERTY!"

If Fuzzy found annoying that living beings entered his territory, seeing the property itself destroyed was probably too much for him to bear. He did not think of the Powerpuff Girls, neither did he think of his cousin. All he could think of was that his house was gone.

"Cousin!" a voice called. Fuzzy recovered from his trance and stared at the creature which was standing exactly over the remains of the house. At his side there were two objects: a big but still standard-looking travel backpack, and a small, metal cage... which contained three unconscious little girls.

But Fuzzy did not even notice them, as now all his focus was on the responsible of the disaster he had just witnessed.

"YOU! You... You just destroyed my property!"

"Completely obliterated, I would say. But, come on Fuzzy, you can always build a new one, and I needed to do that for my plan to work! Thinking about it, I have to thank you!"

All the anger inside the lumpkin was momentarily put aside at the strange remark by the yeti. Fuzzy scratched his head, trying to process why the yeti would thank him.

"Hey, don't think too hard about it, Fuzzy! I do not want to see your brain grilled!" the yeti teased, amused by the lumpkin's reaction.

The anger returned to Fuzzy, bigger than before, and he replied angrily at the insult. "I haven't helped you! You'll pay for what you did to my property!"

"But still, how can't you understand, cousin?" the yeti continued, seemingly unaware of the fury growing inside the pink furred villain. He pointed with one of his fingers at the cage at his side, saying, "You did what I expected you to do. I studied you, Fuzzy. You and this entire city, only for one purpose. Them."

In that moment, a pair of pink eyes slowly opened. Blossom, having just woken up from whatever the yeti did to her, was seeing nothing but blurry outlines and a white background, but she was still able to catch the words of the dialogue between the two beasts.

The yeti couldn't help but laugh as he saw Fuzzy blink and scratch his head once again in confusion. "Oh, Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Fuzzy. It is true, then, that lumpkins always need an explanation for everything. After all these years, the family is still the same, isn't it?"

Fuzzy suddenly sent an angry stare at the yeti, like he had just been offended personally. "You're not a member of our family!" he shouted, "All of you! No matter what you think you are!"

"All right, cousin, as you wish. That's not important right now." The yeti moved towards him and let one of his hands fall on one of the lumpkin's shoulders. They began walking alongside each other and, surprisingly, Fuzzy did not rebel.

"You see, cousin, I was bored to live every day as a ghost, scaring men every now and then being my only free time hobby. So I decided to start my own business, and actually became a mercenary."

Mercenary? What the heck is a mercenary? Fuzzy thought.

The yeti seemed to read his mind as he continued to speak. "It's simple, really. With all the powers I discovered to own throughout the years, I thought: why not to use them in an actual job? So here I am, hunting superheroes and selling them to the best bidder. You can't know how many customers called for my services and how much I already earned with only one year of work. But today is a great day…

"The bounty for the capture of the Powerpuff Girls is the biggest one I'm going to achieve. There are plenty of customers who will pay tons of gold to have them and… do what they want with them. But that's none of my business. Fuzzy, when I now say you should be thankful as well, I mean it: I just caught your sworn enemies! No more Powerpuffs bothering you, keeping you from doing what you like. Do you understand?"

As the yeti spoke, he extended his other arm in front of them, as to show to Fuzzy what was he talking about. And it worked: as the yeti released him, Fuzzy looked at him in awe and said, "You mean… no more brats enterin' my property?"

"Precisely. You'll be able to do whatever you want in the city, too!" the yeti answered.

Fuzzy pondered about his cousin's words. That was… mind blowing! For Fuzzy, it was like an impossible utopia had just become real. He was so used to have to live with the girls' stifling presence that the complete freedom the yeti had just given him was giving him a headache.

"Don't worry about your house, Fuzzy. After building a new one, you'll discover that this was a sacrifice you'll not regret." With that, the yeti whirled around and began walking towards his prizes. "For me, it is time to go now. See you soon, cousin!"

The yeti was confident he had succeeded in convincing Fuzzy of the advantages of the entire situation. Therefore, he was a bit surprised to hear behind him the barely audible noise of something big being picked up from the debris.

The creature immediately turned and blocked a flying plank of wood before it could hit him in the head.

Fuzzy Lumpkins was right where he had left him. He was now as tall and big as him, his teeth had turned to menacing fangs, and his colour had turned from pink to bloody red.

He was mad… like, really mad. And he was mad at his cousin.

But the yeti didn't seem to be impressed by the sight. He instead looked like he was amused. "Very well. It looks like our little lumpkin here did not understand a single word of my speech. Too bad for him, I guess."

Fuzzy growled at him in response. Between the snorts, the yeti could catch the words 'property' and 'destroyer'.

"You definitely did not understand. All right then, let's do it!" the yeti concluded. He tightened his huge fists and prepared himself for the incoming onslaught.

Fuzzy didn't let him have any more seconds of rest. With a war cry he launched himself at the abominable snow man, his hands transformed into dangerous blades.

And that cry awoke the two remaining Powerpuff Girls. Bubbles and Buttercup, both of them soothing their aching heads, were at the same time relieved to see Blossom alive and surprised to find themselves imprisoned into the small cage. But they did not speak a word as they saw what Blossom was staring at: the raging battle going on between the two beasty relatives.

At first, Fuzzy tried to slash the yeti with his claws, using his momentum to gain power on the hit. However, the yeti was not only strong but also fast, so it was easy for him to dodge the attack. The creature aimed at his side with one of his fists, but even Fuzzy was faster now: he blocked the incoming punch in his path.

They stayed in this position for some seconds, one trying to prevail on the force of the other. And Fuzzy's cousin thought it was the perfect time to taunt the raged beast once more.

"Seriously, Fuzzy! We both know you can't win. You chose to fight a worthless battle instead of starting an all new life free of your most hated adversaries. That's nonsense! I know that lumpkins are really attached to their property, but your house-"

At the mention of his former home, Fuzzy felt even more rage fill his muscles with energy. He let out another loud cry and pushed with all his might. The yeti was taken aback by this sudden display of strength, and he had to move back. But the lumpkin wasn't letting him go, as he leapt over him with his claws drawn. The yeti reacted on instinct: he picked up the first thing that was below him, and swung it at the head of the lumpkin.

The plank of wood this time succeeded in hitting its target. Fuzzy fell in front of the creature, feeling dizzy and disoriented, and the yeti right away kicked him effortlessly. The lumpkin was thrown away, but he did not lost control of his body. He landed correctly on the snow, and faced the yeti for the second round.

"Interesting!" the yeti said with almost sincere curiosity. "Looks like my cousin is not that weak doll I always believed he was! At least, this is going to be challenging!"

Fuzzy ignored his words and charged at him, this time in an attempt to punch him. But the yeti did not waste time as he avoided the incoming beast and kicked him again, sending him back in the air.

Again, the lumpkin managed to land on his feet, but this time, he did not attack blindly. He waited, studying the smirking creature in front of him.

"Surprising! You appear to have some gear still rolling in that head of yours!" the yeti said, still smiling annoyingly. "Good… my turn, now."

The yeti scanned his surroundings until he found the weapon he was looking for. He walked casually until he reached a metal beam, similar to the one he used to knock out Bubbles. He grabbed it and wielded it like it was a club, letting it fall on his shoulder.

The yeti smiled once again and began walking towards Fuzzy, one hand on the beam. Fuzzy did not move but continued to stare at him with bloodshot eyes.

The yeti continued to walk until he was ten meters away from the lumpkin. In that moment, he suddenly charged at the lumpkin, swinging the beam.

But Fuzzy was incredibly fast and leapt to the side, avoiding the swings. He unleashed his claws and, knelling, tried to slash the yeti's legs. But the yeti had somehow foreseen his move and jumped in the hair with a somersault, something surprising for a being as big as him. Fuzzy didn't see that his cousin landed right behind him: a metal sound was heard as he was hit dead-centre on the back, but the lumpkin ignored it and whirled his body around.

The yeti swung the metal beam at him another time, but Fuzzy used his hands to block the incoming hit. The raged beast did something unexpected: he pushed the beam towards the yeti's head instead of trying to stop the force of the swing. The move didn't save Fuzzy from receiving another hit on the side, but the yeti was not pleased to feel the point of the metal beam hitting his forehead. The creature retired himself, the world momentarily tilting around him, while Fuzzy couldn't make use of the successful hit as the ache on the side became too much painful for him to ignore.

"Not bad…" the yeti complimented as his sight returned normal. "Really, not bad… I'm sorry I have to stop this battle, really, but I've already lost too much time."

When Fuzzy looked at him, the yeti was already attacking him with the beam. Fuzzy blocked the weapon like he did before, but it was the yeti's turn to do something unexpected. Fuzzy felt that the force of the hit suddenly disappeared, and before he could realize what was going on, his cousin punched him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Then, the yeti followed with an uppercut, another punch and ended the combo by kneeing him.

Fuzzy was mad, but not enough mad to not see the fact that his body was betraying him. As the yeti once again grabbed the metal beam, Fuzzy was too busy trying to regain control of his arms and legs. It was easy for the creature to let a single, powerful swing fall on the lumpkins' head. The hit was so hard that Fuzzy fell on the side some meters away, half-conscious.

The yeti threw the beam away and walked towards the trembling form. He wasn't letting him recover: the creature grabbed Fuzzy and raised it until he was over his head. Already the lumpkin was beginning to turn back to his normal self, but the yeti did not wait for it. He threw him away towards the forest with all of his strength. As the flying object entered the woods, he heard the noise of trunks breaking.

The yeti clapped at himself. That should buy me enough time to get outta here. I have a schedule to follow!

Concluding that the problem 'Fuzzy Lumpkins' had been dealt with, the yeti returned to the objects he had left behind. By now, the snowstorm was almost gone: wind and fog had disappeared, and it was snowing softly. He raised an eyebrow as he saw that not only the Powerpuff Girls were awake, but also they were trying to break the bars.

"You three," he called, actually scaring them. "That is useless. I requested a special alloy of steel for that cage. You aren't going to break free out of it without all of your powers, which at the moment you do not have."

The three girls watched him with various stares. Buttercup was mad, and Bubbles was frightened. Blossom, instead, was confused. She had listened to the yeti's initial discussion with Fuzzy, but she was still struggling to believe what she heard.

She was going to open her mouth to speak, but the yeti hushed her with a gesture. "First rule for you three. You're not going to say a single word until I ask you to do so. I have nothing against you, so if you act nicely you aren't going to be hurt and I'll be able to bring you away faster. I trust you can see the logic in it, don't you?"

"Yeah, think twice maybe!" Buttercup replied as her eyes began emanating red light.

Blossom wasn't enough fast to stop her. As she said, "Buttercup, don't!" the green eyed puff fired a pair of eyebeams at the creature in front of them.

The fact was that the eyebeam was as thin as a hair. The yeti calmly raised one of his hands and the red laser hit it: it did nothing more than leaving a barely visible burn on his skin.

"As I've already said," the yeti continued with a scolding tone. "Your powers are weakened. I injected you with a special substance that is going to affect your bodies, and it will keep you in check for a while. It's not Antidote X, as one of my customers suggested me to use, but it does its job. Enough for me to bring you away and begin to call the customers."

"Customers? What," Bubbles began, but the yeti shouted before she could continue.

"I said… shut up!"

After some seconds of silence, he resumed his speech. "Good. Now, that act from you, little one," she looked at Buttercup as he continued talking, "is going to be punished. And I know quite a good number of methods to do so."

With that, the yeti was at the side of the cage. With light speed, he opened the cage, grabbed a girl and closed it. It was really fast, too much for Buttercup to react. But the worst hadn't already come to her. She realized that she wasn't the one that the beast had grabbed. Seeing that Blossom was still with her, she was left with only one option.

The two of them stared in horror as they saw Bubbles trying to free herself from the beast's grasp. It was useless, even more now given the fact she was weaker, but she still tried. And that annoyed the creature even more.

"What-?!" shouted Buttercup, completely ignoring the rule the creature had put on them. "What the heck are you doing? I-it was me that attacked you, not her!"

The yeti turned towards her and, for the fraction of a second, she could see a smile on his face. And that sent a chill run through her body.

"If you are so willing to understand what I'm doing, then here it is. You did the error, your sister pays. Simple as that!"

"But that's not fair!" complained Buttercup. The yeti looked like he would have smirked, but he maintained his composure. "You should've thought of that before."

He threw Bubbles on the ground, and in the exact moment the blue puff hit the debris, she couldn't help to scream. But even her scream was weak.

"You… You…" Buttercup babbled. In the end she decided it was time to make extreme decisions. "Take me instead!"

The yeti turned and watched her inquisitively. Then he said, "Honourable. Yet, I'll repeat what I just said. You should've thought of that before."

Bubbles was soothing her back, wincing at the hit she just suffered, and that gave the yeti the chance to do his business easily. Completely ignoring the shouting girls behind him, the yeti stopped his breath and got his lungs full with hair. Then, he let all the air out. What happened made Blossom and Buttercup gasp in shock. Especially Blossom.

The air going out of the creature's mouth was cold. Enough cold to instantly solidify the minimal amounts of water vapour that the air encountered. And that cold breath of air hit Bubbles.

The blue-eyed puff couldn't even shriek in terror. She was blocked as soon as the breath touched her. And two seconds later, Bubbles was fully enveloped in a solid shard of ice.

Blossom was breathless. The creature had just used ice breath, a version that seemed to be even more powerful than hers. And he used it to transform Bubbles in a statue of ice. Her face was locked in a stare full of dread, which was disturbing.

At her side, Buttercup watched for some seconds and all she could say was, "You… you monster!"

"I won't tolerate any more shouting without permission!" the creature warned, unaffected by the sight, "so I'd suggest you two to calm down, if you don't want to join your sister. She's not dead, that won't be good for my business after all. I have to capture you alive."

The two remaining girls watched him in silence. They were completely powerless, and as much as they hated it, Buttercup in particular, the best they could do now was following his orders.

The green eyed girl growled in anger but did not answer, turning her head away. Blossom knew they had no other option: she nodded to their jailor.

The creature smiled, content to have his wares calmed down, and moved to the ice statue with the purpose to return Bubbles to the cage. But in that moment, he heard a sound. The yeti put himself in battle mode and began scanning his surroundings. The girls watched him without a word, but he paid little care to them. He stopped his gaze on a particular, suspicious bush…

…from which a black raven flew away, cawing noisily. The yeti watched it move farther and farther, a frown on his face. Could he have mistaken that bird for an enemy? That was impossible; he had spent years improving his senses, including his hearing. So, if that wasn't an error, it meant that-

The yeti couldn't finish coming to the obvious conclusion as the conclusion itself came to him. He heard a howl right behind him. When he turned, he saw something that he did not expect at all. Fuzzy Lumpkins, madder than ever, having just jumped, was right over him.

Good Antartica, the yeti thought as the lumpkin's fist hit his face.